The 90th Hunger Games
by It'sMeSenna
Summary: The Rebellion never happened and the Games are still in full swing. Experience how 24 tributes fight in a battle where only one victor can emerge. Welcome to the 90th Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!
1. Reapings District 1

**Hey guys, the story is officially starting!**

**In this chapter we have Regal Nixon created by NorthEastChild and Phoenix Quill created by unicorn5ever. I think it's a very interesting mix of tributes.**

**Hope you enjoy (:**

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_Regal Nixon, 17_

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I was met by my own reflection staring back at me. My light brown messy hair covered my eyes blocking half of my vision. It took me a few seconds to register that I was lying on the floor, my face next to my mirror-door. I lifted my head from the carpet and rubbed my head. I sat up and glanced at my bed, the blanket was tossed halfway off the bed. It's not that rare for me to wake up on the floor. Let's just say that I'm a kinda restless sleeper… Okay, okay a _very_ restless sleeper.

I stood up, stretching my limbs and groaning. Something sparked inside of me when I realized what today was. I grinned a bit and then decided to go for a quick shower.

After getting out of the shower I grabbed the clothes that I had chosen yesterday: Tan pants and a light blue button down which complemented my golden skin quite well. I ruffled some hair wax through my shaggy hair and headed downstairs.

The house was empty, as usual. I was used to it by now but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Don't get me wrong or anything, I'm not an orphan, but my parents just aren't around very often. Work, that's their excuse. And besides, even when they are home they never show any interest in me. But today is the day that I will show them what I'm worth. When I started training a few years ago it was never my intention to volunteer, I simply did it because I found comfort in training. It made me release all my anger and just be peaceful. But now I know that it is the right thing to do. I'll show my parents what I'm capable of and when I return as victor they sure as hell won't ignore me.

I started whistling a soft tune while I grabbed a picnic basket. I loaded it with some homemade triangle-shaped sandwiches, strawberries, two apples, a bottle of orange juice, two plastic cups and two plastic forks.

I know I don't seem like the guy who goes to picnics, but I have this tradition going on. See my girlfriend, Nastia, and I do this every year. It started when we were 12, she wasn't my girlfriend at that time yet. She was so nervous about the Reapings and I decided, as her best friend, that I should make her relax a bit. So we went for a picnic in the morning. Surprisingly it did help her calm down, so now it's like our little tradition.

My best friend, Champ, always teases me that I turn into a soft mushy guy when I'm around Nastia. And he is kinda right, since I am a bit of a tough person. However, Nastia brings out the nice guy in me. Not that I'm complaining, I feel genuinely happy around her and that's what matters the most.

I hear a soft knock before I see Nastia through the small window in the door. I open the door smiling, she hugs me tightly and I twirl her around as she giggles in my ear. I gently place her on the ground again and she skips inside.

"You ready?" she asks as I close the door.

"Yup, just let me grab the basket and we'll be good to go." I say walking into the kitchen and grabbing the food-filled basket. She follows me and I see that her long platinum hair is braided back. She has a delicate white ribbon on the side of her head and her bright blue eyes sparkle as she takes my hand and almost drags me to the door.

"Whoa, someone's excited" I laugh as I lock the door and we start walking.

"Well, yeah. I'm not worried about today" she exclaims happily. That is quite unusual for Nastia, but I'm glad she's so relaxed.

"That's good" I say.

"You know that girl Bryna. She's a year older than us. She is gonna volunteer this year so I don't have to be worried. Even if I get picked, she will happily replace me. _And _I heard some rumors about Buck volunteering, so we're both safe." Nastia says as she swings our hands back and forth.

I struggle trying to keep a casual smile on my face. See, there's one little flaw in my plan of becoming victor… Nastia doesn't know that I'm volunteering. I just couldn't tell her. She would be shattered and it would only make things harder. I know it's unbelievably cruel of me to keep it from her, but I just can't do it.

"Great, oh look we're here" I say changing the subject. The sight of the daisy-filled field makes a small sigh of appreciation escape my lips. We discovered this field once when we were playing hide and seek, it's usually empty. It seems that not many people are aware of its existence.

Nastia folded out a piece of cloth for us to sit on. We sat down and enjoyed our fabulous breakfast, joking and goofing around continuously. When we finished eating Nastia put her head on my lap and I started stroking her soft hair.

"I love you, you know that right" she said softly. My heart rate fastened a bit and I smiled. I bent down and kissed her cheek.

"I love you too" I say

"As much as I would love to lie here all day, I think we have to head to the square." She says sitting up a bit. I groan but nod in agreement. We packed up everything and started walking to the square.

Halfway there we meet Champ.

"Hey guys" He greets as he walks towards us. We greet him back and the three of us start to chat about random topics.

Once we're there Nastia gets separated from Champ and I as we go stand with the other 17-year old guys.

Adrenaline starts pumping through my veins as I think about what I am going to do. Levya, our district escort walks onto the stage with a huge smile plastered on her face. This year she has chosen to dye her hair a deep shade of purple, charming.

She greets us and then the boring old Capitol movie that we see every year gets played on the screen.

"Let's see who our lucky lady is" Levya says digging her fingers in the girls' bowl. She fishes out one slip of paper and unfolds it. Clearing her throat, she says "Phoenix Quill". Everyone knows that Byrna is going to volunteer so they all wait for her to do that. But she doesn't. I hear a few murmurs among the girls.

"Phoenix honey, please come up here" Levya says. A confused and slightly scared redhead appears on the stage and I recognize her immediately, she goes to my school and I think we have a few classes together. Then again she's easily distinguishable because of her fiery red curls.

"Moving on to the boys" Levya says. I don't wait for her to even walk to the glass bowl.

"I volunteer" I blurt out. It sounded mature and tough, just like I had rehearsed it. Besides me Champ nudged me asking for an explanation but I ignore him.

I walk to the stage confidently and try to ignore the horrified looks Nastia and Champ were giving me.

"Fantastic!" Levya exclaims. "Now what's your name darling?"

"My name is Regal Nixon" I say smiling steadily.

"Let's put our hands together for our tributes of the 90th annual Hunger Games ladies and gentlemen" Levya says bouncing with excitement. "Oh and you two shake hands" she laughs.

I look at Phoenix and she shakes my hand with a somewhat mocking expression in her eyes. I narrow my eyes a bit in confusion, she was scared and confused just a second ago. She noticed my own confusion and winked quickly. Okay then.

We were taken to separate rooms to say goodbye. This was the moment I was dreading most. I knew Nastia and Champ were gonna be mad at me for doing this. The door opened and I braced myself for the shouting.

But instead of seeing Nastia and Champ, I was met by the face of my mother. She walked in and was swiftly followed by my father. I really hadn't expected them here.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. My mum opens her mouth several times to say something but then decides against it.

"Son, we do not know why you have decided to do this but we want you to know that we support you" my father spoke. I was genuinely caught off guard by this. They _support_ me? An emotion that I didn't recognize flooded over me.

"We love you Regal" my mother said awkwardly. But it felt right. I appreciated them coming and I knew that this was the right choice to make. My parents are already noticing me more and the games haven't even started yet.

There were muffled screams coming from outside the room and my parents looked behind them. I recognized the voice as Nastia's and I think they did too.

"Well, we'll leave you with your friends now" my dad said "Good luck" he patted my back.

"We believe in you!" My mum said before opening the door and disappearing.

Nastia immediately stormed in her face red and her eyes puffy, Champ followed close behind.

"Why?" she whispered before she collapsed. Champ caught her in time and I stood up to take her from him.

"Hey, hey it's gonna be okay" I shushed her as she cried into my chest. Champ didn't look too happy either.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell us" he says.

"Guys, I couldn't" I started. "I am so sorry, but you don't have to worry I will come back I promise.

Nastia lifted her head from my chest and looked at me teary eyed. I cupped her face in my hand and wiped away the tears.

"Nastia, I love you and you just have to believe in me alright?" she sniffed and nodded. I stood up and faced Champ. "I'm trained, I can do this" I said to him.

"I know you can" he says hugging me. Champ is like a brother to me, and right then and there that's when I felt how strong our connection is.

The peacekeeper signaled that it's time for them to leave. Nastia rushed over and kissed me, I tasted her salty tears but it didn't matter, I held on to her and when I released her the peacekeeper had to pull her out of the room.

Just before the door closed I could hear Champ yelling "See you soon buddy"

Soon, I will return as victor.

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_Phoenix Quill, 17_

They were taking her away from me. They were dragging her away from me. Away from _us_.

"Stop" I yelled, my voice sounding shrill. I wanted to run after her but I was glued on the spot. "Do something" I screamed at my dad who was standing motionlessly next to me.

They took her and she didn't resist. She just accepted her fate. She stared blankly ahead as if she was already dead. They made her stand in the middle of the square, on a wooden box. They then draped a thick rope around her neck. With one swift movement the box was kicked away from under her.

"NO!" I cried. But it was no use. Her feet were dangling in the wind and her vacant face was fixed on a point far in the distance.

I looked around and suddenly I was all alone. It was just me. Just me and my mother's corpse that hung in front of my eyes. I collapsed on the ground and started wheezing, struggling to get any air into my lungs.

I jolted up with sweat trickling down my face. I looked around and realized I was in my bed, in my room. I sighed and covered my face with my hands.

Why don't all the nightmares just leave me alone? _I know why_ a small voice in my head said _because they are memories._ I slapped my cheeks and ordered myself to be calm.

The voice was right though. I keep having the same two dreams. The dreams about my parents' deaths. I can fight them off when I'm awake but the memories always seem to find a way to haunt me in my sleep.

I actually had a pretty nice life before, I was one of the happiest girls in the districts. Then after my twelfth birthday I started noticing and feeling the tension in the atmosphere at home. See somehow my mother got involved in the protest of District four. When a peacekeeper got shot in the head, and my mum was found carrying a gun, they immediately blamed her for killing the man. She didn't do it, in fact my mum had a license for the gun. But the peacekeepers ignored all of this and she was hung publicly for everyone to see.

You'd think losing one parent was hard enough, well it actually got worse. My dad couldn't handle the loss of his wife, so he started drinking. It would get worse every day, I would find him lying unconscious on the sofa and one time he was so drunk he even mistook me for my mum, who was by then dead for almost a year.

Then there's my aunt Kellis. She started living with us when she and her husband got divorced. When my mum died, aunt Kellis started hating my dad for some reason. She believed with all her heart that somehow it was all his fault. She was kinda crazy.

And that's how I knew that she did it. She killed my father and made it look like suicide. If you search for him in the hospital records you'll see that the reason of his death was an overdose of heroin. The doctors weren't sure if it was on purpose or if it was an accident, however they all believed that he had done it to himself.

But see here's the little fault in that idea: My father _never_ used drugs. _Ever. _So how would you explain that he used drugs one time and immediately died of an overdose? No, my aunt did it. That monster. I can't even stand to look at her. Sadly, she has legal custody of me now that both of my parents are gone. I hate her.

"Phoenix, are you up?"

_Speaking of the Devil…_

"What" I shout back.

"Come downstairs and help me will you?" she yells from downstairs.

I grunt and get out of my bed walking downstairs. As soon as she sees me she hands me three heavy cardboard boxes. I struggle with their weight before I huff out "What's in these things?"

"Oh just some old stuff I found in the basement. Now go carry them to my room would you?" She walks away before I can answer her, the witch.

Of course she can't be bothered to do it herself. She's always moaning about something, this week she's trying to convince me that she hurt her back while doing yoga. So now I'm supposed to do all her chores.

I dump the heavy boxed in front of her room and hurry back to my own. What a great start to a great day! I groaned thinking about today's Reapings.

I shouldn't actually be worried because Byrna is gonna volunteer today, so there's no way I'll get shipped off to the Capitol. It's just that I hate these freaking games. They remind me of the Capitol which remind me of my parents. And besides, they're beyond cruel.

I decide I might as well get changed. I open my closet and pick out a nice white knee-long dress which is slightly ruffled at the end and near the collar.

After I put it on I glance at myself in the mirror. My red curly hair forms a great contrast to the white fabric and I like it. I try to tame my wild hair with a bit of water and then let it flow nicely down my back, pinning it with a few bobby pins.

I inspect my face, I never wear any make up. In fact I hate it because it's something Capitol people put on. I sigh as I remember my mum telling me that I would be gorgeous with it. She used to wear a bit of it and she was absolutely stunning with or without it. I have her eyes, that's what everyone says. They were quite unique and I'm glad I inherited them. They are a mix of green and light brown. Sometimes one color dominates the other but it depends on the light.

I leave the house without another word to aunt Kellis. I wait for Mari outside of her house and soon enough she comes out and attacks me with a hug.

"Finn!" she squeals. I swear it's like this girl is happy 24/7.

I smile a bit.

"Hey Mari"

I saw that she was dressed in a frilly pink and white dress and some glittery pink boots. The pink of her dress matched her bubblegum pink her perfectly. Some people find Mari's style odd and weird but I like how she's just being herself.

Mari is a Capitol girl, but she moved here with her mum a few years back. And I know I hate every single thing related to the Capitol, but Mari is my best friend.

I don't even care that she's from the Capitol, I care about her with all my heart. And she's actually more like a District girl than most girls here. Like me, she hates the games.

"So, Byrna's volunteering huh" Mari says as she loops her arm in mine and starts walking.

"I heard, that dummy" Mari laughed at my response.

Soon enough, we arrived at the square which was already crowded with people. We had our blood marked and then we got in line with the other seventeen year old girls.

The district escort walks on stage smiling at us.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the 90th Hunger Games" she gushes. "And now a special film brought to you all the way from the Capitol" she says backing away from the screen so we can see.

No one's really watching though, everyone knows this crap by heart now.

"Let's see who our lucky lady is" Levya beams after the film finishes. It doesn't actually matter because in a few seconds Byrna is gonna volunteer.

Levya is unaware of that so she digs her hand into the bowl full of papers. She picks one and unfolds it.

"Phoenix Quill" she says. It echoes in my mind a few times before I realize she's called my name. I blink and search the crowd for Byrna who will volunteer any second now.

But the seconds pass and Byrna stays silent.

"Phoenix honey, please come up here" I hear Levya say.

No.

This isn't supposed to happen. I hear the murmurs rise around me and realize it's not gonna happen, she's not gonna volunteer. I look around me irritated one more time before I walk up to the stage confidently. Or at least that's what I'm trying to look like.

_Take it easy Finn._ I breathe out slowly scanning the crown before me and seeing a pale Byrna in the front row. She looks as if she's gonna throw up. I can't believe she chickened out at the last moment. Ugh.

I'm trying my best not to look scared as Levya clears her throat.

"Moving on to the boys" she says but before she could step away someone volunteers. "Fantastic"

He walks up to the stage and recognize Regal. Great, I'm going in these games with some lunatic who willingly entered them.

He introduces himself and we shake hands.

I scold him and he looks confused. Well pretty boy I'm not gonna go down that easily. I wink at him before we're taken away into the Justice Building.

Time for the goodbyes.

Mari enters the room shakily.

"Hey Finn" she whispers. I pat the space on the sofa next to me and she sits down. She sighs and looks at me frightened.

"Mari I'm gonna be fine. You know I was trained when I was a kid, I can do this" I say trying to convince the both of us.

She looks at me again before hugging me tightly.

"This is for you, would you please keep it as your token?" She asks handing me a silver necklace. It has three small charms on it, a pink heart, a yellow flower and a light green dove.

"Of course, it's beautiful. Thank you Mari" I say hugging her back. Her shoulders are shaking a bit and I try to rub her back in comfort.

Before we know it it's time for Mari to leave. The peacekeeper guides her out as she wishes me good luck.

Once the door closes I close my eyes.

I was not gonna die, I couldn't die because of the Capitol.

Both of my parents died because of the Capitol and I was not gonna let the same thing happen to me.

I will come back, for my parents and for Mari who was the closest I had left to family.

Thinking about family I realized that aunt Kellis hadn't come to see me. Not that I wanted her to. I'm glad she didn't come. And when I come back as a victor I'll pretend like I don't even know her.

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**Hope you liked that! Feedback will be very much appreciated so please tell my what you think (:**

**xx Senna**


	2. Reapings District 2

**HEY!**

**Okayy so the Reapings of D2! We have Kenani Willows created by reegreeg and Maris Cooper made by AquaMan497 (:**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter**

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**Reapings District 2**

_Kenani Willows, 14_

I wake up and groan as I feel my back ache like crazy. It's fairly logical that my back's hurting since I practically slept on the floor. Well the only thing that separated me from the floor was a thin matrass. I stand up and start stretching my limbs.

I'm quite used to waking up like this because we always take turns with sleeping on the floor. See, I live with my two friends Gina and Sean but we only have two beds. It might seem strange to you that a fourteen year old girl is living without any parents or siblings. Well it's a long story.

When I was a baby my dad died, I don't remember anything about him. I do remember my abusive mother though, dang I _wish _I could forget_ her. _She was horrible. She used to beat me up every day, I used to be scared to go outside because I was scared of people seeing my scars and bruises.

When I turned eight, I had had enough of it all. I may have been just a child, but in all those years I had matured so fast. I was forced into being a grown up when I was just a kid, all because of my mother who had put so much responsibility on my shoulders. I couldn't handle it, of course, and one day I just snapped. I packed up my few belongings and ran away.

My original plan was to live on the street and start begging people for food and money. As a child I didn't realize the flaws of that plan and just took off. I managed to stay alive for about five weeks, which I find pretty impressive for an eight year old. But anyways, after those weeks Gina and Sean found me.

I wasn't in a very good condition when they found me half-starved in some alley. I am so grateful that they did though, I would've been dead otherwise. Gina and Sean were in a similar situation. They had run away from the orphanage because they couldn't stand the life there.

When they found me Gina was 9 and Sean was 12. They managed to steal some money from the orphanage and were living on that. They also found a small abandoned house and decided to use it as a home. They were nice enough to offer me to live with them and I gladly accepted.

We have been living here for five years now and we have grown really close. Sean got a job at the butcher's shop shortly after we started living together. He helps clean the shop and dispose of old meat and stuff like that. Gina and I managed to earn some cash by doing occasional favours for people. That way the three of us were able to live a decent life. Well, we did steal when needed, but only sometimes.

I looked over to the beds and saw that they were both still sleeping. I chuckled at the sight and then decided to wake them up. We have to get ready for the Reapings.

When they're both up we decide on our Reaping outfits.

"Okay guys, just try to find clothes that don't look like they belong in a dumpster" Sean joked.

As we raided our closet for decent clothes I finally pulled out some short black denim shorts and an oversized white shirt. I realized the shirt was slightly see-through and found a gray tank top to go under it.

When I finished changing I put my long wavy nut-brown hair in a fishtail braid and put some feathers in it. I saw Gina approaching me grinning.

"Aww, don't you look totally adorable!" she squeals pinching my cheeks. I smack her hand away and try to hold in my laughter as she starts fake sulking.

"Look who's talking" I grin back. Gina's wearing a light yellow dress that reaches mid-thigh and her blond hair curls at the base of her neck. She just winks at me and heads to the kitchen. I examine myself once again in the mirror and then follow behind her.

Sean is already munching on a sandwich and I see Gina preparing one.

"Gee, would you mind making me a sandwich too?" I ask innocently.

"Sure" she says rolling her eyes. I go sit next to Sean who I see is wearing dark blue jeans and a green shirt.

Gina hands me my sandwich and the three of us eat in silence.

"So you reckon anyone'll volunteer today?" Sean asks.

"Of course" I snort "We're district two, there's bound to be some idiotic kids who believe they can do anything" I mutter.

"Yeah I've heard several rumors too" Gina agrees finishing the last bit of her sandwich.

"Well we won't have to worry then" Sean says flashing us a bright smile.

"I guess we better start heading towards the square then" Gina says. We all stand up and lock the door before leaving.

I like the fact that we have a lock, after a few months of saving we were able to buy a relatively cheap lock and I know it's a bit silly since there's next to no crime here but I feel safer with a lock on the door.

Not that a lot of people even know this place exists. It's really small actually. We have one bedroom, one bathroom and a narrow kitchen. The three rooms are connected by a small hallway and that's it. It's cozy enough and I like it.

Our little house is at the very edge of the district though, quite near to the fence. That's why we have to walk pretty long 'till we reach the square.

As the three of us walk together we fall into a comfortable silence.

Once we arrive we get separated due to our different genders and ages. I go stand with the other girls of my group and they all scoot over shooting me disgusted glances and I scoff shooting them a sharp look back. I know the girls don't like me but at least they can be a bit more subtle showing it.

"Ladies and gentlemen I welcome you to the Reapings of the 90th Hunger Games" a sudden voice yells. I'm surprised to see our escort this year is a guy, all the escorts I can remember were women. Oh well.

Our escort introduced himself as Caspar. His orange hair gleams in the morning sun and he was bouncing around grinning at us like a maniac, which is when the short film about the war is shown.

"Shall we find out who our female tribute is then?" He hops towards the big glass bowl and with one swift movement picks out a smooth piece of paper. He reads it slowly out loud.

"Kenani Willows"

Wait no. That's not right.

I stare at the escort and wait until he realizes the mistake he made. But the crowd remains unmoved and the truth sinks in.

I was just reaped.

_Reaped._

I never even worried about the Games.

But wait, someone must volunteer right? I start stepping to the stage slowly looking behind me to see who will raise their hand and volunteer.

When I'm finally there I see that no one's moved. I don't think anyone will. Oh of course they won't. No one will volunteer now that I've been reaped. They'll sure enjoy to see me going down.

I am shaking.

Shaking with anger. These damned idiots. I breathe in and out as my body feels like it's going to explode.

I look at the escort which is even more shimmery up close. I narrow my eyes at him and let out a low growl.

He did this to me. That man right there. It's all I can do to keep myself from kicking him in the face.

He senses the anger in me and looks at me like a frightened child.

"I, I uhm" he starts to stutter. And that's when my hand shoots forwards and I punch the glass bowl containing the girls' names. Pain soars through my hand but I don't feel it, I don't feel anything because my anger is numbing my whole body.

Caspar gasps audibly and stares at the broken bowl and the paper slips on the ground.

"Well you gonna continue or what?" I yell. He scampers away from me and towards the boys' reaping bowl.

I'm so angry right now that I think the anger is radiating off of me. My ears ring and my blood boils. I can only make out that a boy was reaped and then an older guy volunteered. He steps onto the stage. He seems awfully cautious around me and that just makes me laugh out loud.

Everyone will think I've gone mad but who cares?

When I shake hands with him his grip is firm and he nods at me. I snort and roll my eyes. After that we're led to the Justice Building and I'm getting frustrated by a peacekeeper who keeps touching me, ugh I know I'm supposed to walk gosh.

When I arrive I'm too irritated to sit down. Soon after I've stepped into the room myself, Gina and Sean bust in. I'm relieved to see them and they rush over to hug me.

When they pull back I see that Gina's eyes are widened in alarm.

"Are you okay?" she breathes.

"I'm fine I was just angry I guess" I say smiling slightly.

"Listen Kenani, we've been training a lot and I _know_ what you're capable of. We believe in you and you will come back" Sean says shaking my shoulders.

"Easy there" I say prying his fingers off my shoulders. "And I know I can so guys just relax"

This seems to calm them down a bit as they both let out a long sigh.

Gina takes off a bracelet and gives it to me.

I examine it slowly in my hands and take it in, it's a black and white twine friendship bracelet. I smile and put it around my wrist.

"As your token" she says.

"I know Gee" I say smiling. I hug them one last time "Love you guys"

They murmur back that they love me too and that's when their time's up. I wave at them as they disappear, a strategy already forming in my head.

* * *

_Maris Cooper, 18_

I wake up to the calm sound of a bird chirping outside my window. I open my eyes but the light is too bright for my eyes. I shut them quickly and yawn.

After a while of lying lazily in bed I stand up and go freshen up. When I get out of the bathroom I go get dressed. It takes me a while to realize that today are the Reapings. I'm not particularly worried or anything. My family is doing quite good financially so I've never had to take out any tesserae.

As I open my closet and scan my clothes I find some clothes which look just a tad dressier than casual. I pull out a nice white collared shirt and navy blue pants. I then head over to the small drawer in my nightstand next to my bed and find a red bowtie with white polka dots, along with those I put on my red suspenders.

There, all ready.

I decide to leave my dark brown shaggy hair the way it is, it reaches just above my eyes. The length it has now covers the small scar above my eyebrow completely. I push my fringe away to examine the scar. Right now it's just a thin faded pink line with a few stitches that you can barely see.

When I was four years old I slipped and fell off of a swing. I can't really remember it but my dad says that I had a very deep cut and that it looked horrible. Luckily for me my mum's a very skilled healer and she sealed that cut up so good that you can barely notice it now. Of course you can see the line above my eyebrow but it's not as obvious as it should have been.

I notice for the first time that the house is awfully quiet and figure that my parents must have already gone to work. We're not really supposed to work on Reapings but my dad's a Peacekeeper so this is one of his most important duties to fulfill.

My mum works in the local hospital, and she's one of the best healers and that's why they won't even give her a break on reaping day. I don't really mind being alone that much though. Even at school I guess you can say that I have plenty of friends, but I guess I have no one that I have a really strong connection with. I like being on my own sometimes, I can think and be peaceful. Don't get me wrong, I love to have nice company but sometimes I just need a moment alone.

There's one person that I really like and have a great relationship with. His name is Evan and he's fourteen. I'm currently training to be a Peacekeeper, like my dad, and so is Evan. He's the youngest of our group and a lot of people used to toy with him when he came into the group. I, of course, stood up for him. I hate it when people are mean towards others, especially when they're just kids. Then somehow Evan and I just clicked. Even though he's four years younger than I am I feel a very special bond with him.

I walk downstairs and make myself a nice breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and a sandwich with cream cheese. I pour myself a glass of milk, sit down and start eating.

When I'm finished I see that I still have over an hour left until the Reapings. I decide to swing by the training center. I go to my room and quickly change into my black jogging pants and a green shirt. I'm not really the type that trains excessively but my dad encourages me to go because he thinks it's good for me and that way I'll be prepared if I ever get reaped or something.

The training center is just a few meters away from my house. So I take a towel and walk outside. When I arrive I see that it might have been a bad decision to come here.

Of course there are all these people training last minute. I guess our district is full of volunteers this year.. or just people who want to show off to their friends.

I decide to just ignore all the obnoxious people and start doing my usual routine. I see the training center as more of a gym than a place to train killing people. There are actually a few cardio machines that help people stay fit.

After training for a bit I see that people are starting to leave, I guess I should too that too then. I walk back to my house and then realize that I've been sweating quite a lot. Okay so I have five minutes to take a shower and get changed into my reaping clothes again.

Strangely enough I succeed and arrive at the square just in time to see our escort, I think his name is Caspar, walk onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen I welcome you to the Reapings of the 90th Hunger Games" he says enthusiastically. "Without further ado, here is the special Capitol film" he says as the film about the war starts playing. I catch Evan glancing at me, he waves at me and I chuckle waving back.

When the film finishes Caspar hops off of his chair again and says "Shall we find out who our female tribute is then?" he fishes out a slip of paper. "Kenani Willows".

It takes a while before a small girl who doesn't look older than fourteen steps out of the crowd hesitantly. I feel an immediate pang in my chest, she's still so young. She keeps looking behind her, probably waiting for someone to volunteer, which I was kinda expecting (and hoping) too.

But no one does, and when Kenani realizes that I see the shift in her mood. The confused girl wears a snarl on her face and stares at the escort furiously. This clearly freaks him out.

He starts stuttering and then he's cut off by the sound of shattering glass. I think the girl took us all by surprise when she knocked over the glass reaping bowl. I gasp a little as I see the fierce look in her eyes.

"Well you gonna continue or what?" she growls. Caspar scoots away wide-eyed. He moves over the boys' reaping bowl and quickly takes a piece of paper. He clears his throat before he speaks the name, and my breathing quickens.

"Evan Duray" Caspar's suddenly clear voice states.

No, not Evan. That is so unfair!

I see him step out of the crowd looking like a frightened little lamb. Evan can't do this, he could never kill anyone even if it was to save his own life!

"I volunteer" my hand shoots in the air before I even hear my voice. My voice that just volunteered. It was like an automatic move, an unconscious instinct. After a few seconds of people staring at me I push myself to walk towards the stage, Evan gapes at me and I hear him whimper slightly. I try not to cringe and finally make it to the stage. As I step on it Kenani starts laughing hysterically and that just makes me more wary.

"Oh great, now what's your name?" Caspar asks eagerly. I clear my throat and look at the people in front of me.

"Maris Cooper" I state, sounding quite confident.

"Well let's have a big round of applause for our tributes!" Caspar exclaims and makes us shake hands.

Kenani still has a wild look in her eyes, probably in too much shock. I nod at her reassuringly but she only scowls at me. Okay then.

We are escorted into our separate rooms for goodbyes. Before anyone comes in I touch the silver necklace which hangs around my neck. This is gonna be my token.

Before I can even finish the thought the doo creaks open. I see my dad's worried face followed by my frowning mother.

"Maris" she whispers. She walks in and takes my face in her hands and just stares at me. She sighs and hugs me tightly. This caught me slightly off guard. See my mother and I aren't really close. We actually argue quite a lot and we don't really get along that well. After a few seconds my stiffened body melts into hers and I hug her properly for the first time in a very long time. "Stay strong Maris, that was so brave of you" she whispers so softly that I doubt dad heard it.

She strokes my hair and then pulls back.

"Son" my dad says grabbing my shoulders. My dad and I are really close and it hurts to even look at him knowing I might not see him ever again. I hug him instead and sigh.

"I love you" he says, "We both do, don't you forget about us in that arena Maris. You can do this I know you're well trained."

I stare at my parents and smile a bit.

"I will try my best" I say.

Then the peacekeeper drags them away. I sit on the couch overwhelmed by all the emotions.

"Maris!" I hear someone squeal. Evan, of course.

He walks in frowning.

"Why did you do it Maris? You shouldn't have." He says sourly.

"Oh come on Evan I couldn't let them do that to you, you know that" I say as he sits down beside me. He bites his lip and looks at me with a pained expression.

"Please come back"

"You know I will" I say to him. I hug him and pat him on the back lightly. Evan is like my little brother, I could never let him get sent to that arena and I have to do this for him. And for my parents.

When Evan gets whisked away I realize how hard the coming weeks are actually gonna be.

* * *

**Okay so I hope you liked that, it'd be really nice if you reviewed telling me what you thought of it :D**

**Sorry for any mistakes I didn't really have time to check it xD**

**Btw, as some of you may know I am going to Ireland this Sunday (YAY) so I won't be updating before like the 18th of May.**

**Oh and also, I was wondering if any of you guys have like tumblr or twitter cause I would really like to connect with my readers, plus I think it'd be quite handy cause I can tweet or post saying when I'm working on a new chapter (:**

**Anyways, goodbyee for now!**

**xx Senna**


	3. Reapings District 3

**Hey guys!**

**First of all I am so so so sorry that I was gone for so long. I'm officially the worst author ever. It's just that when I got back from Ireland I was so busy, first I had this play that I had to rehearse for and stuff. Then I had exams and everything was just GAH. But yeah now summer vacation has started and I'm on vacation in Jordan. I can write now so I'll try to keep updating frequently. I hope you're not angry and I hope you guys are still reading the story.**

**Okay enough babbling, we have two awesome tributes made by Mandy and Arielle Delaney!**

**Enjoy (:**

* * *

**Reapings District 3**

_Destiel Grimes, 16_

I was already up when I saw that the sun started to rise. On Sundays I always help my dad at work in the factory, but that wasn't why I was up this early. I just couldn't sleep all night, I think I've slept a total of three hours. I've been tossing and turning in my bed for a while now. Deciding that I wouldn't fall asleep anyway I got out of bed.

My whole body was aching and my muscles were churning as if I had been running a marathon instead of lying down in my rather comfortable bed. I'm not sure why I wasn't able to sleep. It might have been too hot, or it might have been my nerves.

Today was the day of the Reapings…

I'll be pretty honest with you, I don't want to be reaped like most of the kids here. Well I think none of the kids want that. But the thing is that I just c_an't _be reaped. I cannot die. I sound like a frightened child but this isn't even about me. I don't want to go into the games, I don't want to die but not because I'm scared for myself. I am not afraid of dying. I am scared for my dad, I'm the only one he has left.

My mom and my little brother Kenny died in a fire when I was seven. Mom and Kenny were at home when it happened, we still don't know how the fire was started or if someone lit it on purpose. All I know, all anyone knows is that my dad and I came back to the house and found it burnt to ashes. I would've died in the fire too, but I was at work with my dad. In fact, it was the first time I had ever joined him. I was so proud of myself and I couldn't wait to tell mom and Kenny all about it. I never even got the chance to do that.

After the fire my dad and I moved into a small house on the outskirts of the district. We've been living there ever since. Managing our lives is pretty hard, I was forced to grow up and mature too early and I had to help my dad earn money as much as I could. I've taken tesserae every year, and it has been a great help. I know things would be a lot harder without it, so I never complain.

I took a quick shower and then slipped into my working clothes, which consist of a baggy grey sweater and loose black shorts. I caught my reflection in the mirror. The sweater was pulled back at my shoulders, which were just a bit too broad for a 16-year old. My dark blond wild hair was sticking out in several directions. I attempted to smooth it down with my palm but failed. Black circles from the lack of sleep were surrounding my bluish/greenish eyes and I noticed how rough my skin was getting. The skin on my hands was a bit harder than it was supposed to be and I hadn't shaved in a few days, hence the stubble growing on my chin.

I turned away from the mirror and checked my dad's room, as I suspected he was already at the factory. After drinking a glass of water walk to the factory myself.

"Hey Destiel, your dad's in the back. Sorting duty" Jack said as I walked into the factory.

"Okay, thanks buddy" I nod as I pass him by.

I reached my dad and he greeted me swiftly, then we started working together almost in synch. We work at an electricity company, which is not very rare since our district represents electronics. Anyway, we get different tasks or duties each week, and this week we're on sorting duty which is pretty easy. We basically have to sort through big piles of electric appliances (which only the capitol uses of course) and decide which ones are too battered and old. We then split the pile in two: the working appliances and the defect ones.

After three hours of sorting my dad sends me home to go change into my reaping clothes, because I am under eighteen the factory has to send me away an hour before the reapings, the other employees can come and watch the reapings once they start.

When I'm home I change into my comfortable dark jeans and a grey blouse and then head towards the square alone. On my way some of my classmates see me and I walk the rest of the way with Tommie, Ladel and a girl which I think is named Sedy.

When we arrive the guys wave Sedy goodbye as she heads towards the girls' station and the three of us walk to ours.

"You nervous, mate?" Ladel asks and I shrug in response. I'm not gonna tell him what's actually going on in my mind. I'm not a very talkative person and Ladel knows it so he just nods.

As we all wait the president shows the short film about the creation of Panem after the war, and as always they close off with footage of the destroyed District 13.

After that our escort Rayna steps up from her chair and strides towards the microphone, she clears her throat.

"Hello District three, so nice to see you again! And what a special day it is, let's see who our lovely tributes will be this year" she says, a wide grin stretched across her face.

She makes a big show of walking towards the girls' reaping bowl on her long heels, and it looks like she might trip every second. When she's finally there, she digs her slender hand deep into the bowl and quickly takes out one slip of paper.

"Jemima Adams" Rayna smiles. No one moves and I can see faces turning looking for her. When she's finally shoved forward I see that she can't be any older than thirteen, the age little Kenny would have been if he was still alive.

My heart aches as the trembling red-haired girl makes her way to the stage. Then halfway, she stops. I watch her curiously and see that she's shaking uncontrollably. Then in a matter of seconds she crumbles to the ground and stats sobbing hysterically.

"Come now dear, there's nothing to be afraid of" Rayna says stretching her arms towards the crying girl. Yeah, right. Nothing scary about entering the Hunger Games and probably never coming out. It becomes clear that the girl's not budging so two peacekeepers come and drag her to the stage, where she seems to come to her senses wiping her tears away. Rayna asks for any volunteers but the crowd stays silent.

"Okay then, time for the boys!" This time she takes a slip of paper right on top of the pile. "Destiel Grimes"

That's me, Destiel Grimes.

Uh-oh.

Did this really have to happen? I mean seriously after everything that my dad's been through?!

I stiffly make my way to the stage trying to keep my face as neutral as possible. When I'm almost there Rayna grabs my arm and drags me up herself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Jemima Adams and Destiel Grimes, the tributes of the 90th Hunger Games!" Rayna exclaims happily. She makes us shake hands and I can feel how fragile the little girl is, she smiles a bit at me and sniffs. I smile and pat her back.

After that we're taken to the rooms inside the justice building where we will say our goodbyes. I wait patiently for my dad to arrive, I'm gonna assure him that there's nothing to be worried about.

The door opens, but instead of seeing the broad figure I expected to see, a bunch of kids from school stumble inside. One of them particularly sad. I look around and recognize Ladel, Tommie, August and a crying Sedy. Yes, she was actually crying.

She runs towards me and attacks me with a huge bear hug that catches me off guard and almost sends us tumbling over. Luckily she's pretty small and I'm, well, pretty strong so I manage to keep us standing. I awkwardly hug her back as she cries into my shirt. When she pulls back I cans see she's embarrassed.

"Sorry, I just,I-" she stutters. I hate to see the girl squirming like this so I interrupt her.

"It's okay, don't even worry about me" I say, her eyes widen a bit but before she can say anything Ladel steps in.

"What do you mean? Aren't you worried?" he asks.

"Maybe, but I'll be fine" I assure them.

When the rest of them say goodbye and wish me good luck they are ushered out by a peacekeeper. Then my dad comes inside. I walk up to him and he catches me in a tight embrace.

"Dad, I'm sorry" I say, my voice breaking.

"Des, this is not your fault at all, don't you even feel guilty. I know you're strong and you're probably bigger than most tributes so I need you to realize that you have quite a chance at winning."

"I know dad, you don't have to worry because I'm not leaving you, I will come back" My dad smiles and I pull at the small chain around my neck. "Besides I have Kenny's necklace with me, it'll bring me luck"

"I'm sure it will" my dad says smiling. A peacekeeper opens the door and my dad gives my shoulder an assuring squeeze. "Bye Destiel, do your best"

"I promise" I say my voice determined.

I must, and I will come back.

* * *

_Jemima Adams, 13_

"Mima, Mima" a little voice says tugging at my blanket.

"Mhm" I reply, but the tugging doesn't stop.

"Mima?" she says again. I open my eyes and see my little sister staring at me from beside the bed. I smile and pull her in next to me. She giggles and hugs me.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask, my voice still thick from sleep. She nods with force cuddling her teddy bear.

"Yeah, but no one's awake so I got bored and woke you up" she says and I laugh.

"Okay, what do you wanna do then?" I ask standing up and stretching.

"I wanna play a game!" she exclaims happily.

"What game?" I ask as she jumps up from the bed herself.

"Let's play hide and seek!" she suggests, her eyes shining. Even though I absolutely hated the game, how could I ever say no to such an adorable face.

"Okay, but I'm gonna lose as always. You can hide anywhere cause you're so tiny" I tease her pinching her cheek.

"I'm not tiny" she says stomping her foot on the floor.

"Fine, fine you're very big. Happy?" she nods and I laugh. We walk downstairs together and she starts counting. I go and hide behind the curtain and wait for Lizzy to finish counting. As I wait I get the feeling that I'm missing something, something big about today. But I can't put my finger on it. I shake it off and notice Lizzy has stopped counting. Within a few seconds she finds me and it's my turn to count.

We continue playing for about an hour. Mom's up and she's making breakfast, Lizzy is drawing, dad's reading the newspaper and I'm just relaxing on the couch.

Still I have a feeling that something's wrong.

And then it hits me.

The _Reapings_!

How could I forget something like that? I slap my forehead.

"What was that for?" Lizzy asks.

"For my stupidity" I answer groaning, I look up and see Lizzy's confused face. "It's nothing Liz, I just forgot something" I smile, she continues drawing.

I shouldn't stress right? The chances of getting reaped are rather slim since I've never taken tesserae and I'm only 13. My worries subside as I realize that the odds _are_ in my favour.

When we finished breakfast I go out to meet up with Grace and Hope, my two best friends. I've been friends with them for as long as I can remember, we've been through everything together and I love them to bits. They are completely different though. While Grace is confident and social, Hope is shy and quiet. But I guess they even each other out.

I wait by the small intersection and suddenly I feel someone tackling me to the ground. We hit the earth with a loud thud and all I can hear is Grace's laugh in my ear. I try to wriggle away from her but her grip on my shoulders is too tight.

"Let me go" I whine, which only makes her laugh more. A small smile tugs at my lips but I'm not backing down. "Grace! Get. Off. Now. Hope, a little help here?!" I can hear Hope running to my aid and I know she's struggling trying to get Grace off me. Because of Grace's distraction I was able to free my arm. I smirk as I start tickling her. She starts shrieking and laughing and I'm able to flee from her.

"Not funny!" I exclaim, even though I'm laughing as well. As all the laughter dies down I can see the worry in Hope's eyes. I quickly make my way over to her and put my arm around her.

"It's gonna be okay right?" she asks, her voice trembling slightly. I sigh and give her a big hug.

"Yes, don't worry" I try to assure her, even though I'm a bit shaky myself. I take Grace's arm and give her a hug too. "Your names are only in there once, it'll be fine I promise"

Grace and Hope are still twelve, their birthdays are a few days after the reapings. We start heading to the square together. I feel some tension in the air between us, but I know they're worried. This is their first reaping after all.

When we arrive, I go first. I look back and see Hope flinch as her finger is pricked and her blood gets stamped next to her name. I give her a small smile and she follows me with Grace.

"I'm gonna go over there to the other thirteen year olds, I'll see you after okay?" I say.

"Yeah, good luck Mima" Grace says and I nod, walking away. The president shows the film about the creation of Panem after the Dark Days. When he´s finished, our escort Rayna steps up.

"Hello District three, so nice to see you again! And what a special day it is, let's see who our lovely tributes will be this year" she says with a rather squeaky voice. She walks towards the reaping bowl and I feel my nerves slowly building up.

"Jemima Adams"

What?

But how? My name's in there two times!

Someone shoves me forward and I know I have to move, I have to go to the stage. Step by step I approach it. I can feel my body shaking more with every step. I can't do this, I just can't.

I look up and I see Rayna, up close she's even more terrifying. I blink trying to clear my head but it's not working.

I am going to die.

My knees buckle and I fall to the ground with a defeated sob. Why don't they just kill me here and save me the pain and misery? My mind goes to Lizzy, sweet little Lizzy, how will she react to my death? How can she possibly cope with it?

Before I can dwell on these thoughts any longer I feel strong arms hauling me up and towards the stage. I'm standing next to Rayna and I manage to wipe my tears away. She walks to the boys' reaping bowl and calls a name that I don't even hear over my beating heart.

A tall boy with blond hair walks up the steps of the stage and my stomach squirms. This is going to be pathetic. Look how big he is compared to me, what if all the tributes are like that?

However, when I meet his eyes I find a comforting light. He suddenly doesn´t look that scary anymore.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Jemima Adams and Destiel Grimes, the tributes of the 90th Hunger Games!"

Destiel, so that´s what his name is. We shake hands and I manage a small smile which he returns quickly. After that we're taken into the justice building for our final goodbyes.

I enter a fancy room which is bigger than my living room, the curtains are thick and layered and the wood is a deep brown colour that I've never seen before.

The door suddenly opens with a loud bang and I turn around to see a teary-eyed Hope and a shocked Grace. Hope runs towards me and catches me in a strong hug. It takes all my power not to burst into tears again.

"You said it was gonna be fine, you promised" Hope whispers against my hair.

"I know, I'm sorry. But you and Grace are safe" I say to her. She breaks away and I see her lip trembling.

"Mima, you're not giving up are you? You may be small but you can outsmart them!" Grace says.

"I'm not giving up, I will try to win" I say, but they both know how small my chances of winning are.

Before they can say more two peacekeepers drag them away.

"Good luck!" I hear Grace a second before the door heavily shuts.

Then my family steps in. Lizzy wobbles towards me and hugs me tightly. She's crying, no sobbing actually. I sit down and set her on my lap.

"Hey, Liz, it´s gonna be okay" I try to shush her. My mom and dad stand next to me. I see the tears in their eyes. Lizzy pulls back sniffing.

"Honey, I know this seems terrible but don't forget that we are supporting you" my dad says sitting down next to me and putting an arm around me. I lean into him and sigh.

"You can do it Mima, even though it seems hard. Just stay strong" my mom whispers. She sits down too and soon we're all hugging each other.

I love my family. I love my friends. I just love my home.

Way too soon a peacekeeper arrives to take them away. My mom gives me a final squeeze and then I'm left all alone.

It will be fine, I'm gonna stay strong.

* * *

**Sorry for the spelling errors and things like that, I ****didn't have time to proof-read.**

**Well hopefully you liked it, please review telling me what you thought of the chapter (:**

**Byeee**

**xx Senna **


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